Online Trolls: Is There a Solution?

Someone posts a status, a meme, an article and inevitably, within the comments section someone has taken the time to write: "who cares?!" Or even worse, gone out of their way to name-call, belittle, argue, etc. with people they might not even know. And I'm left wondering, "What's the point?"

Do you remember the days when social media and really, the internet in general, started becoming a more every day use for people?

Do you remember how we treated it then?

It was more of an escape from reality. It was more of a, "let's go here and do a silly survey and just be silly." It was more about sharing happy moments with those around us than what it's turned into today.

Here's my take on it and you don't need to agree with me but, my point about it, too, is that you don't need to share your negativity either. Now listen, I'm not calling YOU out specifically. There are millions of people that do this and I just can't grasp why. Why are we bringing each other down so frequently? We will always have a difference in opinion but as mama always said, "If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all."

I'm going to give some examples from our 'GNA Facebook page. In this case, I'm purposely blurring the names and default images of those who left these comments because I'm not personally attacking anyone here. I'm legitimately trying to allow people to see the light.

If there is something online that you don't agree with, you don't like, you don't care about, why do you feel like you need to express it? Just because it's a "free" space? Wouldn't it be more productive to do just about anything else in your world rather than to correct someone's grammar online? So many people get a strange sort of confidence boost behind a keyboard and a screen, it blows my mind.

What's funny is someone is reading this right now thinking I'm doing the same exact thing. But listen, why do you think protests started? To make a positive change. I want people to want to be nice to each other. I want people to want to allow someone to have enjoyment for things they may not like. I want people to feel like it's okay for someone to enjoy a musician, a movie, a lifestyle, a local sighting, the sharing of something one is passionate about without putting that person down or complaining or arguing about it.

But then I guess the question I should ask is, "Is that asking too much?"

What do you think? Can we be nicer to each other? Can that be a thing?